U.S. patent number 5,549,560 [Application Number 08/335,725] was granted by the patent office on 1996-08-27 for apparatus and method for injecting a pharmaceutical preparation in solid form.
Invention is credited to Gijsbertus G. P. Van de Wijdeven.
United States Patent |
5,549,560 |
Van de Wijdeven |
August 27, 1996 |
Apparatus and method for injecting a pharmaceutical preparation in
solid form
Abstract
The present invention relates to a method and a device for
injecting humans and animals with a pharmaceutical preparation,
wherein the preparation is held in a rigid carrier (5) and the
carrier is carried through the skin into the body by means of gas
pressure, and wherein during carrying of a rigid carrier (5) into
the body by means of gas pressure the device with which the carrier
is carried into the body is held against the body. The invention
likewise relates to a device for injecting animals or humans with a
pharmaceutical preparation, wherein a chamber (2) is present in
which a carrier (5) containing the pharmaceutical preparation can
be placed, a barrel (1) connecting onto this chamber and means for
carrying the carrier by means of gas pressure through the barrel
into the body for injecting, wherein means are present for blocking
the use of the device when it is not pressed against a body.
Inventors: |
Van de Wijdeven; Gijsbertus G.
P. (Heesbeen, NL) |
Family
ID: |
19860790 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/335,725 |
Filed: |
January 9, 1995 |
PCT
Filed: |
May 13, 1993 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/NL93/00098 |
371
Date: |
January 09, 1995 |
102(e)
Date: |
January 09, 1995 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO93/23110 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
November 25, 1993 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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May 13, 1992 [NL] |
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92.00844 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
604/130; 604/140;
604/506; 604/57 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61M
37/0069 (20130101); F41B 11/85 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61D
7/00 (20060101); A61M 37/00 (20060101); A61M
5/20 (20060101); A61M 31/00 (20060101); A61M
5/178 (20060101); A61M 36/00 (20060101); A61M
005/20 () |
Field of
Search: |
;604/130-137,272,274,256,70,62,68-69,60,140-141,61,143-147,46,28,51,187,57 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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0182682 |
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May 1986 |
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EP |
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3419876 |
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Nov 1985 |
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DE |
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2174606 |
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Nov 1986 |
|
GB |
|
9202310 |
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Feb 1992 |
|
WO |
|
Other References
Section Ch, Week 8315, Derwent Publications Ltd., Londen, GB; Class
B07, AN 83-36278K & S U,A,933 101 (Timoshin), dated Dec. 30,
1977..
|
Primary Examiner: Green; Randall L.
Assistant Examiner: Van Over; Perry E.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Banner & Allegretti, Ltd.
Claims
I claim:
1. Method for injecting humans and animals with a pharmaceutical
preparation, wherein the preparation is held in a rigid carrier and
wherein the carrier is carried through the skin into the body by
means of gas pressure, characterized in that during carrying of the
rigid carrier into the body by means of gas pressure the device
with which the carrier is carried into the body is held against the
body.
2. Method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the carrier
is carried into the body by means of compressed air.
3. Method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that in one
operation with the injecting the area of the skin where the
injection takes place is disinfected.
4. Method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that in one
operation with the injecting the animal for injecting is
marked.
5. Device for injecting animals or humans with a pharmaceutical
preparation, comprising a chamber into which a carrier containing
the pharmaceutical preparation can be introduced, a barrel
connecting onto this chamber, means for carrying the carrier by
means of gas pressure through the barrel into the body for
injecting, and means for initiating release of the gas pressure
into the barrel, characterized by means for blocking the use of the
device when it is not pressed against a body.
6. Device as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the means of
generating the gas pressure are formed by a vessel for filling with
compressed gas which is connected to the chamber by means of a
closing valve.
7. Device as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that on one of
its sides the device contains a handle-grip, and on its other side
it containes the aperture from which the carrier emerges.
8. Device as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that at the end
of the barrel a member is arranged, which when the end of the
barrel is pressed onto the skin, atomizes a liquid, for instance a
disinfecting liquid or a highly coloured liquid onto the skin.
9. Device as claimed in claim 5, characterized by a magazine for
the carrier, wherein means are arranged in the magazine for urging
the carriers into the chamber.
10. Carrier fit for injection by an apparatus according to one of
claims 5-9, characterized in that said carrier comprises a
bio-degradable substance and a pharmaceutically active
substance.
11. Carrier as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the
carrier comprises a pharmaceutically active substance an a
bio-degradable substance.
12. Carrier as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the
carrier is formed such that the pharmaceutically active substance
is released slowly from the carrier.
13. Carrier as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the
carrier is formed by a rigid hollow shell and that in the shell
there is a space for arranging the pharmaceutically active
substance.
14. Carrier as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the rigid
carrier contains mainly starch.
15. Carrier as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that the
carrier is manufactured by injection moulding.
16. Carrier suitable for injection by an apparatus according to one
of claims 5-9, characterized in that the carrier contains an
identifiable element, for instance a chip.
Description
The present invention relates to a method and a device for
injecting humans and animals with a pharmaceutical preparation.
Both this method and this device are generally known. Use is made
herein of a syringe which is filled with the pharmaceutical
preparation in liquid form, whereafter by means of a piston
received in the syringe the liquid preparation is injected into the
body through a needle pushed through the skin.
This method is used both with humans and with animals.
This method is however beset with the danger that the needle, after
being inserted into the body, is contaminated by micro-organisms or
viruses present in that body which pass onto the needle of the
syringe. When the same needle is used for injecting a following
body there is therefore the danger of the following body being
contaminated.
While in the case of human applications it is usual to use syringes
and needles for once-only use, this does result in cost increases
and excessive environmental impact, particularly in the case of
prophylactic inoculation on a large scale. This is the case for
both human and veterinary applications.
Known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,757 is a method wherein the
preparation is received in a rigid carrier and wherein the carrier
is carried through the skin into the body by means of gas
pressure.
In this method only the carrier with the pharmaceutical preparation
penetrates into the body for injecting so that no instruments or
parts thereof penetrate into and are removed from the body for
injecting so that the resulting risk of infection is reduced.
This method moreover results in a great speed, which is
particularly important when a large number of humans or animals
must be injected.
This known method has the drawback that it is only suitable for
injecting animals from a distance. This leads to dangerous
situations, since the kinetic energy of a "fired" carrier is so
great that it can easily cause serious injury.
Another drawback lies in the fact that the accuracy of the location
at which the carrier enters the body is low, so that there is a
great chance of the carrier entering the body at a less suitable
position. Moreover, the kinetic energy of the carrier when it
enters the body is strongly dependent on the distance between body
and device. At a great distance there is indeed no longer any
guarantee that the position of the carrier is still axial when it
enters the body; the risk of injury is therefore great.
The invention therefore provides a method which is characterized in
that during carrying of a rigid carrier into the body by means of
gas pressure the device with which the carrier is carried into the
body is held against the body.
Use is made herein of a device which is provided with a chamber in
which a carrier containing the pharmaceutical preparation can be
placed, a barrel connecting onto this chamber and means for
carrying the carrier by means of gas pressure through the barrel
into the body for injecting, characterized by means for blocking
the use of the device when it is not pressed against a body.
It is noted here that it is known to introduce pharmaceutical
preparations in the form of a carrier into the body, wherein in
general these pharmaceutical preparations release their
pharmaceutically active substance slowly. In this known method
these carriers are arranged surgically in the body, which of course
entails high costs. These surgically arranged carriers often leave
behind a remnant which must be removed, once again surgically, or
which result in the occurrence of abscesses or infections.
The present invention will be elucidated hereinbelow with reference
to the annexed figures, in which:
FIG. 1 shows a partly broken away perspective view of a device
according to the invention;
FIG. 2 shows a partly broken away detail view of the device
depicted in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a detail view broken away in another manner of the device
depicted in FIG. 1; and
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a carrier for use in the method
according to the invention.
The device depicted in FIG. 1 is formed by a barrel 1 in which a
chamber 2 is arranged. Situated under chamber 2 is magazine 3 in
which a spring 4 is arranged for urging carriers 5 toward the
chamber 2. It is also possible to feed the carriers on a belt or on
a chain in the manner of a machine gun. Another possibility is
formed by the use of an annular magazine in which the carriers are
arranged. The side of chamber 2 remote from the barrel 1 is
connected by means of a channel 6 to a pressure vessel 7. A closing
valve 8 is arranged in channel 6. For handling of the thus formed
release device 9 a first hand-grip 10 is fixed to the barrel 1 and
a second hand-grip 11 to the channel 6. The closing valve 8 is
further connected to a trigger 12. The hand-grips are preferably
integrated into the housing.
As a result of the fact that the device is pressed with the barrel
against the body for injecting, the required kinetic energy of the
carrier is small so that the device with a pressure vessel 7
incorporated therein can inject a large number of carriers.
In order to charge the vessel 7 it is provided with a connection 13
in which can be arranged a reducing valve 14 in order to make
adjustable the pressure with which the gases reach chamber 2 and to
enable maintaining of this pressure at the adjusted value.
Further arranged on the front side of the barrel 1 is a sleeve 19
which is slidable in axial direction on the barrel 2. Sleeve 19 is
connected by means of a rod 20 to the closing valve 8. This is a
safety device; it is only possible to operate the trigger 12 when
the sleeve 19 is pressed rearward in relation to the barrel 1, so
that only when sleeve 19 has been shifted through contact with a
body for injecting is it possible to pull the trigger 12 and cause
a carrier to move through barrel 1 into the body for injecting.
The construction is shown in more detail in FIG. 2. Sleeve 19 is
provided with an internal edge 21 with which guiding on the barrel
1 takes place. Further, a ring 22 is screwed on the rear end of
sleeve 19, wherein ring 22 likewise provides guiding on the barrel.
To prevent the sleeve 19 being removed from the barrel pins 23 are
arranged on the barrel. Arranged between pins 23 and ring 21 is a
coil spring ring 24 which ensures that sleeve 19 is retained in its
extreme position. Only when the end of barrel 1 is pressed onto the
skin of a body for injecting is the sleeve 19 moved rearward
counter to the spring action of spring 24 so that the rod 20 is
moved to the rear and the trigger 12 can be pulled.
For this purpose a pressure vessel in the form of an aerosol 26 is
connected to the barrel 1 by means of a fastening element in the
form of a belt 25. Further connected to sleeve 19 is a bracket 27
which rests against the head 28 of the aerosol 26.
Thus is created a mechanism wherein, when the sleeve is pressed in
by the body for injecting, the aerosol is activated and a portion
of the contents of aerosol 26 is atomized inside sleeve 19. For
this purpose the head 28 of the aerosol is connected by means of a
flexible hose 29 to the internal edge 21 of the sleeve, in which an
opening 30 is arranged through which the hose 29 extends. The
contents of the aerosol are formed by a liquid or a gas which has a
disinfecting or marking action. In preference both properties are
incorporated in the same liquid, for instance tincture of iodine,
brilliant green or mercurochrome. It is of course possible to
employ other liquids, for instance a mixture of a highly coloured
liquid for marking and a liquid with a disinfecting action.
It will be apparent that there are other options for atomizing
liquid, for instance a vessel which is pumped up at each stroke of
the sleeve relative to the barrel. It is also possible to use the
kinetic energy of the carrier to atomize the liquid, for instance
by means of the suction occurring after passage of the carrier.
It is of course likewise possible, when the situation lends itself
thereto, to make use of either a disinfecting liquid or a marking
liquid.
It will be apparent that other embodiments of mechanisms for safety
and spraying of marking and/or disinfecting liquid are possible;
the above mentioned construction is only one embodiment.
Finally, FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a carrier according to the
present invention. The carrier designated in its entirety by 5 is
formed by a substantially cylindrical body 30 which is provided on
one side with a conical tip 31. The other side of the cylindrical
body 30 is flattened. It will be apparent that this shape is
suitable for firing as carrier into a body by means of the device
depicted in FIG. 1, wherein penetration through the skin is
facilitated by the conical shape.
It is also possible to apply other carrier shapes. Such a carrier
can be manufactured entirely of a pharmaceutically active
substance, although it is also possible that the quantity of
pharmaceutically active substance is too small to produce such a
carrier. In such a situation the carrier is manufactured from a
mixture of pharmaceutically active substance and an additive
material, or only an additive material with recesses for the
pharmaceutically active substance. The additive is of course chosen
herein such that the carrier has a sufficient mechanical
strength.
It will be apparent that the dimensions of the carrier are subject
to the field of application; in human applications a length of
several millimetres is envisaged in the first instance. In
veterinary applications the dimensions depend of course on the type
of animal for injecting; in the case of pigs or cows is envisaged a
carrier with a length of about 1 cm and a diameter of about 2-3
mm.
It is likewise possible to provide the carrier with a cavity 32 and
to arrange the pharmaceutically active substance in this
cavity.
It is possible to embody the carrier as capsule or to use a
sponge-like structure of robust bio-degradable material, in the
cavities of which is arranged pharmaceutically active
substance.
It is also possible to embody for instance only the tip in a robust
bio-degradable material.
It is otherwise possible to select the material of the carrier such
that the pharmaceutically active substance is absorbed into the
body immediately after injecting. It is also possible that the
pharmaceutically active substance is only released slowly.
Use can be made herein of coatings applied round the active
substance. It is even possible to use different units of
pharmaceutically active substances with different coatings so that
the pharmaceutically active substances are released as it were in
stages after different periods of time, for instance in the case of
different pharmaceutically active substances.
It is attractive to embody the carrier such that it disappears
within a determined time, for instance several weeks or even within
several hours. In order to achieve this the carrier must consist
not only of the pharmaceutically active substance but also of
rapidly bio-degradable material. Use is preferably made herein of
starch or of mainly starch-containing substances. These are given a
form-retaining shape, for instance by injection moulding.
It is of course possible to administer such a rigid carrier in
other manner, for instance by means of an operation of other usual
means of application.
The above embodiment is suitable for successive injecting with the
same pharmaceutical preparation. Other embodiments are conceivable
which are suitable for successive injecting with different
preparations and which are provided for this purpose with a
magazine in which only one carrier can be placed. It is even
possible to use the present invention to inject chips into animals.
Herein the chips can be injected directly when they have a suitable
form, but they can also be arranged in a carrier of bio-degradable
material.
* * * * *